In Australia, almost 6,000 deaths a year can be attributed to alcohol, as well as around 400 hospitalisations a day. While drinking has declined in some segments of the population, with related stabilising of rates of death and illness, these numbers are far too high. Similar reports are emerging in other countries.

We have also seen the transgenerational impact through fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). These are lifelong and severe disorders that occur as a result of exposure to alcohol in the womb.

Here are four diseases evidence shows are linked strongly with alcohol consumption.

1. Cancer

In total, cancers account for the largest proportion (more than one-third, or around 2,000 Australian deaths a year) of alcohol-attributable deaths. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women, followed by liver disease. For men, the leading cause is liver disease, followed by bowel cancer.

Cancer risk can increase at relatively low levels of consumption, and rises the more you drink. It’s also influenced by individual vulnerability.

For bowel cancer, risk increases from two standard drinks a day. For every standard drink, breast cancer risk for women increases by around 12%. Cancers of the larynx (voice box) increase from one standard drink a day – daily consumption of ten standard drinks a day increases the risk four-fold compared to not drinking.

Similar evidence exists for mouth, oesophageal and liver cancers. Emerging evidence suggests we also need to consider associations with prostate, pancreatic, lung and gallbladder cancers and malignant melanoma.

2. Heart disease

But systematic reviews (where multiple studies are analysed) conclude that there is no net benefit, or very limited benefit, of moderate drinking over abstention. Even where protective effects for the heart are identified, these are often at very low levels of consumption (such as one standard drink every other day).

3. Injury

Alcohol consumption affects judgment, reaction time and contributes to risk-taking. Alcohol-related injuries from falls, drowning, vehicle accidents and violence contribute to a high proportion of hospitalisations in Australia and overseas.

Falls and assaults contribute to 21% of alcohol-attributable hospitalisations in Australia. These injuries resonate through the whole community in terms of harm to family members, innocent bystanders and the cost to our policing and health systems.

4. Neuropsychiatric disorders

Neuropsychiatric conditions, which include alcohol dependence and abuse, are the leading causes of alcohol-attributable hospitalisations (37%) in Australia.

Knowing your risk

Individual vulnerability and the context in which you drink are relevant. But, in general, low-risk drinking to avoid alcohol-related death is two standard drinks or less a day. Single-occasion low-risk drinking is four standard drinks or less.

The safest option for those thinking about pregnancy, or who are pregnant, and for those under 18 years old, is not to drink. Exposing an unborn child to alcohol is a dose-dependent risk that can endure across their lifetime.

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